The Zona Velha — Funchal's Old Town — runs east from the Mercado dos Lavradores along the seafront to the Fort of São Tiago. It was the original settlement of Funchal, and after decades of decline it has reinvented itself as the city's most atmospheric neighborhood. The streets are narrow, cobbled, and lined with restaurants and wine bars, many set in the ground floors of low houses decorated with painted wooden doors.
The painted doors have become an attraction in their own right. From around 2010, local artists began painting the doors and shutters of the old town, and what started as a neighborhood project has grown into something city-wide. The density is highest here in the Zona Velha, where almost every door carries a different image. Walking the main streets at night, when the restaurants spill out onto the cobbles, is one of the better Funchal experiences.